


Climb is All We Know

by kxneki



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Pack Feels, Teen Wolf AU, because in teen wolf there really is a lack of happiness, happy!fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-10
Updated: 2012-08-10
Packaged: 2017-11-11 19:51:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/482277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kxneki/pseuds/kxneki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Derek Hale is finally happy, and the pack is too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Climb is All We Know

He doesn’t really know when they all became a family unit. It never occurred to Derek that he had finally achieved the pack he always wanted until now, catching glimpses of what feels like wholeness as he takes everyone in.

Mrs. McCall is in the kitchen, cooking her infamous (according to Scott) homemade soup, the smell of sauces and spices and vegetables permeating the air.

“Do you need some help, Mrs. McCall?” He asks her, his mother was always stern about helping out in the kitchen, but she just smiles tenderly at him, her eyes warm as she sets her gaze on Derek. 

“What have I told you, Derek?” Derek’s smiling along now, though bashfully, looking down at her hands as they slice an onion on the chopping board.

“Melissa. Do you need help with anything, Melissa?” And she laughs a short, quiet laugh as he corrects himself. Calling her by her first name would seem normal to anyone else, but she makes it loud and clear that there’s no need to be formal with her. There’s no need not to feel comfortable and at ease around her, and Derek sees a lot of his mother in the way that Melissa makes commands, not harsh, but simple and easy.

“You can set the table if you’d like, it’ll be ready soon.” And so he does, because he feels like he’d do anything for this woman who cooks meals for them, who bandages them up and doctors them when needed, who covers for them and who dotes on them as if they were all her flesh and blood. 

Derek finds it funny, the way the Sheriff is no longer clouded, in a shroud of obliviousness and is no longer on bad terms with any of them. It's funny because Derek’s always had respect for this man, but now he returns it. Derek never asked for it, but he can see it in the way that he walks in and takes half of the dishes and napkins and cutlery, and sets the table along with Derek.

He can see it in his smile, appraising, and Derek would do anything for him as well. Derek has to smile as Melissa scolds him about something trivial, but it shows that she cares. The Sheriff smiles with him, apologizes to her, and goes to wrap his arms around her from behind as she cooks, whispering into her ear. It gives Derek a warm feeling that sparks nostalgia from when he was younger, and it stays with him, wrapping him up in a feeling he thought was foreign to him.

Derek feels a bit foolish for not noticing before. How together everyone is now, with Scott and Isaac in the living room, conversing as they play games through the afternoon, or until Allison and Chris show up- an open invitation was handed out long ago- and Allison drags Scott away, and Chris finds Peter so that they can scout through the woods or play darts until dinner is ready

And how Erica and Boyd are always together now, holding hands and nearly attached at the hips. They’re at the point of sharing secret smiles and inside jokes and Derek wants to want to throw up at the almost artificially sweet sentiments, but he doesn’t. 

Lydia may be the person that surprises him the most. She comes to Derek often, always asking him personal things and if he’s okay, and Derek thought it would bother him, but she reminds him of how Laura used to be.

After being sheltered from the supernatural world so long, Derek took it upon himself to introduce her to it, guiding her along the way, and helping her. She repays him by helping out in a different way, tutoring the pack when they need to keep their grades up, researching along with the Argents and Stiles to find information, and checking up on all of them. She’s a caregiver, which, Derek notices, all of the members of the pack care in their own way, but Lydia is the go-to when you need to talk. Derek thinks that Laura would get along with Lydia the best.

Jackson takes a bit longer to adjust to this, learning how to cooperate with others because he was no longer singular, he’s a part of something, involved. Derek and Scott made it work, through the times he couldn’t control the kanima, to the times his anger got the better of him, everyone stuck with him through it, which he wasn’t used to. No one blamed him for taking longer to settle in, but they were all happier for him when he started to come around more, started talking more gentle and more himself, when he started to get to know everyone better and let them know him. He still sticks with Lydia mostly, during pack meetings and any time they need to do something together, but Derek understands that.

Scott’s become more of a brother to him, now. It’s no longer dominance battles and arguments, and Derek trusts him now. Probably trusts him with his life, which is saying a lot, in Derek’s case.

Derek can’t remember when the last Monday was that the whole pack hadn’t gathered to eat dinner and watch cheesy movies or have this weird extended-family game night. And it hits him, looking around at everyone. Melissa and “Papa” Stilinski in the kitchen, Isaac, Jackson and Scott sitting on the couch in an intense game on the xbox, Lydia and Allison looking through photo albums, Chris and Peter only God knows where. Smiles, and laughs, and warmth, and this is better than he ever imagined it would be.

It’s not perfect by any means, but this will do, Derek thinks.

“Whatcha thinking about?”

And then there’s Stiles. The one person that knows him better than anyone, the one person that’s stuck with Derek and everyone else in the pack, holding them together. The Stiles that taught Erica how to drive and made sure she got her license, who brings everyone desserts before they go out, who deals with so many things that Derek doesn’t know how to. Stiles has become a “pack mom” of sorts as he and Derek are in this co-parenting stage with the pack. And for the record, or Stiles’ record, really, Stiles is only the “pack mom” because the Sheriff is the only “Papa” for right now, Stiles likes to remind everyone. But Derek thinks it’s fitting, as do the others, including Stiles, and so it’s stuck. 

Derek smiles, blinking out of his daze and bringing them to rest on Stiles. He shakes his head softly as he pulls him close, Stiles letting out a small squeak of contentment as he buries his side against Derek’s.

“Nothing.” Derek says, but Stiles knows better. 

Stiles smiles up at him, planting a small peck on the corner of Derek’s lips and turns to look around at the pack, like Derek was doing a few minutes before.

“I’m glad that you’re happy.” He tells Derek, wide amber colored eyes squinting with a smile. And Derek loves this about him, where Stiles can somehow pick up whatever Derek feels without any real words spoken.

Derek grunts, a low sound of agreement rumbling through his chest and into Stiles’ side.

“Me too.” Derek says honestly, squeezing Stiles’ hand briefly before pulling him to the living room to wait for dinner with the others.

He sees the Sheriff smiling at him again as Stiles settles beside him, watching the game on the television, and Derek thinks if he had to live like this forever, he could without any complaints.

It’s been a long time since Derek’s been this happy and complete.


End file.
